Corbin Burnes, Orioles fall to Yankees in 2024 series finale

NEW YORK — As the Yankees reclaimed the American League East crown on Thursday night, the Orioles prioritized postseason preparation, realizing they’re going to need their ace to set the tone in next week’s AL Wild Card Series.

Corbin Burnes tossed five terrific innings in the series finale at Yankee Stadium, where he was pulled after throwing only 69 pitches during his final outing of the regular season in an effort to keep him fresh for October. Meanwhile, New York went on to win, 10-1, and capture its second AL East title in three years, sandwiched around Baltimore’s first-place finish in 2023.

Burnes is the Orioles’ probable starter for Tuesday’s Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series, which is likely to be held at Camden Yards. The O’s (88-71) can clinch home-field advantage with one win during their three-game series at Minnesota this weekend. They could also do so if the Tigers lose to the White Sox on Friday.

At the start of the week, the only scenario in which the O’s could win the AL East was by finishing with six straight wins and having the Yanks close with six consecutive losses, so this result in the division felt inevitable.

The only positive for the Orioles from Thursday was that Burnes appears to be in top-tier form entering October. The 29-year-old right-hander allowed only one run on two hits (including a Giancarlo Stanton home run in the second) and one walk while striking out nine. Burnes recorded more K’s in a start only twice this season — a pair of 11-strikeout outings on March 28 (Opening Day vs. the Angels) and May 19 (against the Mariners).

“You’re out there throwing the ball well, and you’ve kind of got to look at the bigger picture,” Burnes said. “We’ve got a lot of important games coming up here next week. So we talked about it, put the plan of kind of going five [innings] and 75 [pitches], in that range, and getting work in and getting prepared for the postseason.”

Burnes has positive momentum after posting a 1.20 ERA in five September starts.

“He was lights-out,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “He feels good going into the playoffs, and that was the most important thing.”

After getting traded from the Brewers to the O’s on Feb. 1, Burnes (the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner) pitched as advertised during his first year in Baltimore. He went 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP and 181 strikeouts in 194 1/3 innings over 32 starts.

Burnes will be the first Orioles pitcher to finish with a sub-3.00 ERA in 190-plus innings since 1992, when Mike Mussina had a 2.54 ERA over 241 innings. Burnes will be the first to do so while also notching 180-plus strikeouts since 1977, when Hall of Famer Jim Palmer had a 2.91 ERA and 193 K’s in 319 innings.

“I’m just really proud of coming in and obviously [with] a brand-new group, adjusting to it pretty quickly and having a good year,” Burnes said. “Overall, the consistency was very good. That’s kind of my goal coming in, is make sure I’m available to go every five days.”

Baltimore will need Burnes at his best in five days, as Hyde all but confirmed that his ace will start Game 1 in the best-of-three AL Wild Card Series — not a surprise. Zach Eflin should pitch Game 2, with Dean Kremer ready for a potential Game 3.

There is some disappointment for the Orioles that they couldn’t win back-to-back AL East titles for the first time since 1973 and ‘74. That was their primary goal for the regular season, and they came up short.

The difference was the two teams’ play in the second half. Baltimore is 30-33 since the All-Star break, while New York has gone 35-26.

“It’s a good team over there. They played better than us the second half,” Hyde said. “We’re excited to be in the playoffs. We need to better our position. We still have some work to do. But give them credit for playing well.”

The O’s are likely to face either the Tigers or the Royals in the AL Wild Card Series, though the Twins also remain alive in the postseason mix. If the Orioles advance, they could meet the rival Yankees in the AL Division Series.

Should that matchup materialize, Baltimore feels confident after going 8-5 vs. New York during the regular season.

“We’re going to face them again. The only way I think we’re going to move on is having to go through them,” Burnes said. “It’s in front of us. We’ve just got to go out and play our baseball. We played great against these guys in the regular season, so there’s no reason why we can’t do it in the postseason.”